Job Description
Job DescriptionApply now: Products & Systems Integration QA Lead (SDET) , location is Hybrid (Tysons, VA – 2–3 days onsite). The start date is ASAP for this Contract-to-Hire (6 Months) position.
Job Title: Products & Systems Integration QA Lead (SDET)
Location-Type: Hybrid (Tysons, VA – 2–3 days onsite)
Start Date Is: ASAP
Duration: Contract-to-Hire (6 Months)
Pay Rate: $70/hr - $77/hr W2
Conversion Salary: $160,000 – $180,000
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k
Benefits: Eligible for Health, Dental, Vision, 401K
Not eligible for Visa sponsorshipJob Description:
We are seeking a hands-on QA Lead / SDET to build and own the test automation and quality strategy from the ground up within a Product Management Office. This role will act as the technical authority on quality across both proprietary software products and complex 3rd-party system integrations, ensuring reliability, scalability, and seamless system performance.
Day-to-Day Responsibilities:
- Build and own the end-to-end QA strategy, including defining standards, frameworks, and "definition of done”
- Design, develop, and maintain scalable automation frameworks for UI, API, and integration testing
- Lead testing efforts across internal products and 3rd-party system integrations
- Perform API and data-layer validation to ensure system integrity across environments
- Establish and enforce quality governance across multiple workstreams
- Collaborate with product, engineering, and leadership to align testing with business priorities
- Identify and communicate system risks, defects, and release readiness to stakeholders
- Select and manage QA tools, test environments, and reporting frameworks
- Lead and mentor a small QA team (2–3 engineers) while remaining hands-on
Requirements:Must-Have Skills/Experiences:
- 7 years of experience in SDET, QA Automation, or Software Engineering roles
- 2 years of experience in a lead, mentor, or team leadership capacity
- Strong programming experience in Java or Kotlin
- Deep experience building and scaling test automation frameworks (not just executing tests)
- Hands-on experience with Selenium or similar automation tools
- Experience with API testing (REST/SOAP) and integration testing across systems
- Strong SQL skills for data validation and backend testing
- Solid understanding of software engineering and testing best practices
- Proven ability to operate independently and build processes from scratch
Nice-to-Have Skills/Experiences:
- Background in software engineering beyond testing (true dev-to-SDET path)
- Experience testing systems that integrate with 3rd-party or COTS platforms
- Familiarity with cloud environments and CI/CD pipelines
- Understanding of networking, infrastructure, and distributed systems
- Experience in mission-critical or systems-heavy environments (e.g., security, infrastructure, automation)
- Exposure to systems engineering concepts such as V-model or integration testing at scale